India and Australia signed as many as six agreements today during the delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Malcolm Turnbull. In a joint statement after the meeting, Narendra Modi said that both countries have made a significant progress in bilateral relations in the recent years.

The Prime Minister also said that during the meeting, a number of forward-looking decisions were taken to further strengthen ties between both the countries. “We are aware that in this globalised world challenges like terrorism and cyber-security extend beyond boundaries of our regions” he said.

Emphasizing the need for stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the PM said, “challenges like terrorism and cyber-security require global strategy and solutions”. The Prime Minister also praised his counterpart saying that the leadership between both countries have touched new milestones under his leadership. “Your visit gives us the opportunity to shape new priorities in our strategic partnership,” the PM told Malcolm Turnbull during the join statement.

He also said that the cooperation in the field of education and research is one of the most important aspects of relations between both countries.

“We took a number of decisions to further improve our partnership, including holding soon the next round of talks on our comprehensive economic cooperation agreement,” the PM said further.

On his part, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that his government will continue provide better opportunities to Indian students. “We will continue to ensure that we provide outstanding opportunities for Indian students”, he said. Earlier in the day, both prime ministers hold delegation level talks during which six agreements were signed, including on cooperation in Terrorism and organized crime.

The six pacts that were signed between both countries include agreements on cooperation in fighting international terrorism and organised cripromotiontion and development of cooperation in civil aviation security, cooperation in the field of environment, climate and wildlife, cooperation in the field of sports and cooperation in the field of health and medicine.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also signed an MoU with Geoscience Australia on cooperation in earth observation and satellite navigation.

This is the first visit of Malcolm Turnbull in the country as the Australian prime minister. Earlier, both Narendra Modi and he had met on the sidelines of the G-20 in Antalya in 2015 and in Hangzhou in 2016.

The Australian Prime Minister had arrived in the country along with a delegation yesterday. Turnbull will visit Mumbai tomorrow where he will attend several events, including an interaction with key business leaders and an energy round-table.